TORONTO: Ontario’s Francophonie residents can now request an Ontario Health card at no extra cost with French characters such as accents. This is as a result of Ontario’s Ministry of Health’s recent news release informing all Ontarians about this service.
With this representing the Ontario’s plan to make French characters available on all Ontario government identification, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Sylvia Jones, indicated that this will improve Ontario’s Francophone community's ability to access government services, including their health card.
As a result, it is believed that this change will ensure names will be spelled correctly on health cards as well as on one’s driver’s licence. “We are supporting Ontario’s Francophone community and improving their experience when accessing vital government services throughout the province, including health care,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Franco-Ontarians can now have their name correctly identified on their health card in addition to their driver’s licence and photo card.”
In addition, if members of Ontario’s Francophone community want to replace their current health cards with new ones that feature French accents, and their name displayed with French language characters they can do so free of charge, by either visiting a Service Ontario location in their area, or by visiting Service Ontario online.
Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Francophone Affairs, expressed the Ontario government’s commitment to delivering French-language services to Francophones.
“By making available French-language characters on Ontario health cards, the Government of Ontario demonstrates its determination to expand quality services for the province’s French-speaking community,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Francophone Affairs. “We are committed to delivering French-language services to Francophones and will continue to work closely with our partners to reflect the needs and specificity of Ontario’s Francophonie.”
This change hopes to make it easier for Ontario’s Francophonie to access these services and to have their names shown accurately on government identification such as their health card and driver’s license.
